| Description |
xxxiii, 284 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm |
| Note |
Originally published in 2001. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-278) and index. |
| Contents |
Preface to the 2007 Edition -- Preface to the First Edition -- Acknowledgments -- pt. 1. The job today -- 1. New World domestic order -- 2. Maid in L.A. -- pt. 2. Finding hard work isn't easy -- 3. It's not what you know -- 4. Formalizing the informal : domestic employment agencies -- 5. Blowups and other unhappy endings -- pt. 3. Inside the job -- 6. Tell men what to do, but don't tell me how -- 7. Go away but stay close enough -- 8. Cleaning up a dirty business -- Notes -- References -- Index. |
| Summary |
Americans are quirky about class. We point to democracy and egalitarianism as the defining elements of our society, yet we cannot ignore our checkered history of exploitation of land and labor. Fast forward to the 21st century, the majority of women with children are working, and two-career families struggle to stay ahead of the frenetic pace. They try to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of the family and the tasks associated with "taking care of our stuff." Many working women -- on the advice of friends, therapists, or just because it makes sense to pay others to do work there's no time to do -- turn to housekeepers and nannies to minimize the chaos and make time for activities besides working at work and working at home. Yet there is a profound moral ambivalence about having "hired help" in our homes, paying others to clean our homes and care for our children. It sounds so aristocratic and reeks of feudalism. There is discomfort about hiring mostly poor and mainly immigrant women to do the "dirty work" of cleaning and caring. Some may question whether or not this kind of work is a real job, a conundrum not lost on stay-at-home moms who are often on the defensive when the inevitable question is raised at a cocktail party or company picnic: "So what do you do?" Women who do not have a professional career yet depend on a housekeeper and nanny to help out admit they don't like being around when the worker is cleaning. That's the day or the time they choose to run errands or go shopping. |
| Subject |
Women household employees -- California -- Los Angeles.
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Nannies -- California -- Los Angeles.
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Hispanic American women -- Employment -- California -- Los Angeles.
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Women foreign workers -- California -- Los Angeles.
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Women immigrants -- California -- Los Angeles -- Economic conditions.
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Working class women -- California -- Los Angeles.
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Upper class women -- California -- Los Angeles.
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| Added Title |
Immigrant workers cleaning and caring in the shadows of affluence |
| ISBN |
9780520251717 alkaline paper |
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0520251717 alkaline paper |
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